Ways Back
by erifetim
Summary: Hiro Hamada has to both cope with Tadashi's death and deal with a criminal who seemingly wants to kill him. A mysterious young man with auburn hair and green eyes seems very intent on helping him though, which could either relax Hiro's nerves or create more conflicts.
1. Gone

Flying. Riding dragons. Far above the ground. What was previously unthinkable for mankind has become an everyday activity in an isolated society, even a necessity to some individuals. What better place is there to get your heart pumping again, rid you from all worries and make you feel free than a place where time doesn't matter, problems on the ground shrink with every step upwards and joyous shouts are accompanied by your beloved and loving companion? No rules, no limits. No distractions, just reactions.

But we are far, far away from that society, its rocky island way below the horizon, surrounded by miles and miles of ocean water. Groups of dark-blue sea dragons the size of giant wales drift through the water below, the sun high up hides behind a few stray clouds.

On that very peaceful day it's quite unusual to see a black dot between the water and sky approaching fast. Dragon and rider, flying with unknown speeds from left to right, away from their responsibilities and into new lands filled with new adventures. As if they were one they spin upwards through the dark-grey clouds and towards the hidden sunlight above before plummeting straight down towards the vast ocean. Another spin, they quickly regain altitude whilst turning left and right, again jumping through the moist fog and sailing just high enough for the sleek black dragon to touch the white top layer from the clouds with his paws.

Though freezing temperatures prevail at this height neither rider nor dragon could care less. They only need their freedom and each other's company to warm themselves and to shut out every tiny discomfort. Both are flying now at ease, seemingly content with their acrobatics and ready to settle down at the nearest island.

The rider however had planned for more.

If spectators haven't already felt sick the slightest after watching the dance of skilfully executed stunts, their stomachs will turn over by the time they see the seemingly inseparable duo split apart. The small human figure plunges into the air, rapidly gaining speed and widening the gap between himself and his companion, who in turn folds his wings and angles himself to keep up with his daring friend.

As the dragon caught up with the masked man they both looked at each other in mad happiness, their gleeful shouts almost lost in the wind. Whatever they had run away from was long forgotten. What better place is there.

The sea was slowly closing in. But instead of hopping back onto his dragon to escape certain death mere seconds away, the rider puts his arms into leather straps attached to his armor and pulled them outwards revealing a pair of wings that were hidden until now - and he started flying through the air as if he were a dragon, too.

True, manoeuvrability was considerably limited, and true, without some hidden force one would only be able to glide along not able to gain altitude whatsoever, but those were two small drawbacks everyone would put up with just to experience the excitement of flight first-hand.

The black as night dragon watches his companion glide in front, who occasionally yells out in pure joy.

But no matter how much soaring through the sky exhilarates a person, one must be aware of the always present dangers that come with it. The rider doesn't appear to be fearful at first when a thick fog clouding his vision limits his ability to see, but that soon changes as he does notice a huge boulder in the distance approach at an alarming speed.

He screams towards his dragon, wobbling with his arms and tilting a little in a futile attempt to swerve around the sea stack. Immediately his dragon starts flapping his wings violently, only coming closer bit by bit, closing the distance before it would be too late. However in almost no time they would smash into those rocks, so in a last act of desperation the dragon shoots a fireball towards the rock formation just in time as he manages to catch his rider's foot, pulling him in to cover his friend with his wings.

There is an ear-piercing explosion, blinding light everywhere, a massive shockwave that would tear whole worlds apart. Even the rocks-on-rocks smashing and crumbling is barely audible through all that noise, and with that glare it is virtually impossible to see anything.

Then, just moments later, silence. Merely a deep thunder rolling silently in the far distance. The sea stack could not be seen anymore - neither the dragon with his rider. No tracks, no traces, no bit left. Both gone.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well this is a first. Never thought I'll do a crossover. Let me know what you think!


	2. The Microbot Incident

**A/N** **:** I should've probably mentioned that it's recommended to watch both (or all three) movies beforehand. I'll jump right into the story without bothering to introduce characters, locations, ...

Onwards!

* * *

This didn't feel right. Something was wrong. An abandoned factory where microbots, something HE had invented, were being created. And the man that's got to be behind all this, that strange masked man controlling every part of it, was still sending shivers through Hiro's body when thinking about his and Baymax's near death escape after they had been attacked. That man certainly was more than just an unfriendly peasant from the streets. He had a plan, a secret. If someone were to find out, he'd want to get rid of the witness as quick as possible.

He was a criminal.

Hiro felt both excited and frightened at the same time. With that near death experience just minutes ago, his heart was pumping at an all-time high while he was racing through the unusually empty streets, his eyes fixed on a distant building where he hoped to get help.

Cursing under his breath he quickly turned around to grab hold of Baymax again. Though Hiro understood why an inflated robot nurse made of vinyl served the purpose of looking less threatening to patients, he wished right now that his brother, Tadashi, had used a material that was less slippery and had more grip to it. Even sandpaper would do right now.

And that man had millions over millions of microbots! Just imagining what could be done with those unimaginably many pieces was horrifying. Lives could be at stake, the entirety of San Fransokyo could be endangered, there might even -

"Please express patience, I'm not fast."

Hiro halted abruptly before the staircase towards the police station and whirled around to see a completely left behind Baymax, wobbling slightly from left to right while taking his tiny steps. Why couldn't the robot have wheels? Wheels... huh... Not only would he be faster, but then Hiro could even ride him.

But of course not. Hiro stared wide-eyed and heavily breathing at Baymax, who might have been a stone's throw away now, crossing the street as if he had all the time in the world. Which he probably did.

The boy faced the police station again, walked up the three marmoreal stairs and quickly grabbed the golden handles of the glass door to push it.

The inside was a considerably big hall with a few chairs left and right and a middle-aged recipient on the other side sitting behind his desk. Man and boy exchanged eye contact for a few moments before the man broke it and boredly stared into his computer and started typing again.

While Hiro still waited for Baymax, who by now reached the bottom of the stairs and tried his best to advance without losing his balance, he dug his right hand into the pocket of his jacket to pull out the microbot that was still encased in its petri dish. Examining it with his shaky hands he couldn't make out any strange movements by the bot itself. Good. So they weren't being followed.

"You seem rather out of breath."

Hiro tilted his head and recoiled in surprise as he noticed Baymax' black dots for eyes just a few inches above his head.

With an annoyed tone he hushed back: "Well, I was the only one -" inhaling "- running."

Baymax seemed undeterred by Hiro's mood. "If you wish to continue exercising, I advice to stretch and warm up your muscles to prevent physical damage." A picture popped up on Baymax' belly displaying an animated figure from the side, left foot far in front, the other far back and the whole body slowly lowering. The right side's lower leg was highlighted with a red color. "Let's begin with: shanks."

"I'm done exercising!" Hiro would have laughed if the situation wasn't that grave. He looked back to the recipient, who, as he imagined, stared at them with his brows raised high, a hint of puzzlement accompanying his bored expression.

"Officer!" Hiro called out, shrank back a little by the unexpected echo in the hall, but nevertheless ran towards the man's desk. "You - you need to help us."

The man in his blue uniform glanced between Hiro running towards him and Baymax wobbling close behind.

"Sure, kid." He said in a slightly forced concerned tone. "What seems to be the problem."

"There - there's a cri -" Hiro struggled to catch his breath as he reached the officer's solid wooden desk. "Criminal out there. He - he - we were attacked, he had my flying robots to attack us, millions of microbots that were mine, but escaped. I mean, we escaped. From the fact- abandoned factory." Why was talking so hard all the sudden?

"Alright kid, why don't you just calm down for a moment." The police officer looked Hiro straight in the eye, a flat hand held up in a calming manner while his other hand picked up a pen from a pen holder.

While Hiro slowly steadied his breathing pattern, the middle-aged man quickly noted something down on a piece of paper next to the computer before putting the pen back into the cup, turning towards his flat screen, grabbing the mouse and clicking and typing information into the computer.

Hiro ran his fingers through his messy black hair, smearing droplets of cold sweat from his forehead across his skin before wiping his hand dry on his dark-blue sweatshirt. Now breathing through his nose he looked around to maybe find some interesting feature in this empty hall.

The sun shone through the milky glass double doors, spreading warm, bright light throughout the whole room. The white floor had a giant circle with the words "City Of San Fransokyo - Police Department" in capital letters engraved into it. Everything, the floor, wooden benches, even the trash can next to a fern plant in that pot in the corner and the lightbulbs on the walls seemed to have been polished thoroughly.

"Name?"

"What?" Slightly startled by the sudden question from the police officer, Hiro looked first at Baymax, then on some piece of paper laying next to the computer screen on the desk while answering awkwardly. "Eh, Hiro. Hiro Hamada." He scratched his neck.

"Hiro… Hamada…" The man repeated while simultaneously typing it into his computer. "Now why don't you just tell me what happened in chronological order."

"Yeah, sure." Hiro replied, thinking about where to start. "So… I had some microbots - like really small, robots that could stack up. We, I and my robot," Hiro made a small gesture towards Baymax, "must have taken that criminal by surprise. He was using my bots to attack us."

The officer stared at Hiro. His now bewildered expression didn't look reassuring at all. "Can you describe that... Criminal?"

"Yes, I mean, no. He - he had a mask on, really strange mask in white and red-blue, and a black suit. Pretty tall -" Hiro pointed with his finger towards Baymax right beside him. "A little smaller than Baymax. But not fat, more like -"

A squeaking sound of the entrance door carefully being pushed open made the boy stop in his rambling and turn his head around. Peeking into the hall was a tall, young man with messy auburn hair, few freckles on his face and short stubbles.

He looked Hiro directly in the eyes before awkwardly waving a hand at the officer and saying a muffled "Sorry" with a shy grin. The man slid out the door again.

"About the same build as him." Hiro turned back again and continued, "Maybe not as thin and more massive."

The police officer typed the details into his computer. He looked up at Hiro again and summed it up: "So let me get this straight: you and balloon-man were attacked by a criminal in a Kabuki mask with an army of miniature flying robots -"

"Microbots!" Hiro interrupted him and held out the single microbot inside the glass case he still held in his hands. "He controls them telepathically with a neuro-cranial transmitter!"

Hiro wasn't sure if the officer looked at him or through him. "Mi-cro-bots" the man repeated again while also typing it into his computer. "Did you file a report when they were stolen?"

"No." Hiro answered slightly frustrated now. He put his petri dish back into his pocket. "I thought they were all destroyed. Look, I know this sounds crazy and all, but Baymax was with me. Right Baymax?"

The robot held up his right finger to ensure his loyalty. "Yes, officer. He's telling the trUUuueth…" His voice suddenly broke, changing in speed and pitch as if he lost control over it.

"Whoa, what's happening?" Immediately Hiro's arms went up to prevent Baymax from falling over, who right away leaned heavily into Hiro.

"Looow batteriii."

Seriously? Why in the world would a robot with low battery act drunk? It also didn't help that Hiro's credibility must have been below the surface by now.

"Just…" Hiro slightly panicked as he flung Baymax's right arm around his shoulder to support his balance. "Keep it together."

The police officer, not particularly amused by the change of state, reached with a hand towards a stack of paper behind him. „Listen kid, how 'bout we call your parents to come down here."

"What?" Could the officer not see Hiro wanted to take care of things by himself?

Furthermore, as desperate as Hiro was to get help, he could not let Aunt Cass get involved in this. Not only for he would get his second lecture of the week on how his aunt's parenting methods seemed to have failed on him, but also because after Tadashi's death he couldn't get his only remaining relative involved in a dangerous criminal case as well.

Oh gosh, Tadashi. Has it only been a week? Hiro started to panic. He couldn't stay here. He needed to leave. _Quickly_.

While the officer was going through different drawers trying to find the correct form, Hiro dragged Baymax, who laid on the ground now talking some non-sense about scanning people and diagnosing strange diseases, over the neatly polished floor towards the exit. With all his might he pushed the door open and squeezed the robot's thick body through the swing door.

Once out the door and down the stairs, both laid down into the grass field next to the side walk, Hiro taking in the warm sun while breathing in fresh air he didn't know he was missing, Baymax acting as a pillow under him, just seemingly dozing off and staring into the cloudless sky. The 14-year-old boy closed his eyes, solely concentrating on his surroundings. Rumbling of motors inside cars, roaming through the streets on his left, footsteps of an occasional pedestrian walking by, soft, short-cut grass on his fingers.

Hiro stayed there for a couple of moments when, much to his displeasure, Baymax sat up at once, held up a finger and began spewing out random bits from his speech archive again in a very drunk tone.

"IIIiii will scan you now. Hello, Baymax, Iii'm your personal assistant." He hiccuped twice. "Scan complete. Healthcare."

"Oh please." With an exasperated sigh Hiro ran his hand through his hair as he watched Baymax continuously losing his senses. "Just… get up."

Hiro took one arm from the robot and heaved him up on his shoulders to carry him. Which turned out to be a rather challenging task considering the boy was only half as tall as the robot.

"Are you ok?" Someone shouted from the sidewalk.

Hiro looked up from his position. A young, lean man with messy auburn hair, few freckles on his face and a short stubble beard, about five yards away from him. The same guy as before!

"Ah, yeah." Hiro responded, a little nervous. "I'm fine, thanks."

He looked on the ground again, trying to look as casual as possible when carrying his drunk friend on his back, its feet touching on the ground lightly. The only thing that mattered to him right now was getting home while avoiding more insidious incidents, crazy criminals or lackadaisical laborers. He needed some time alone, in quiescence and peace where he could think. Or stop thinking.

Unfortunately Baymax decided to have one of his energy attacks again. The gears inside the robot started shifting with a force unknown to Hiro, which caused him to lose grip and fall on his side and onto the grass with a silent "Uhf!". Baymax wobbled a bit standing up, mixing up words like "Cooompanion" and "Allergies to peaanuuuts", then falling onto his bottom and then doing his greeting wave with his hand in every direction as he moved his head from left to right.

"You've got to be kidding me." Hiro murmured into the grass, closing his eyes. He wasn't up for any of that.

Carefully he glanced to his right, not failing to notice the stranger's amused expression. Why would he be so interested in him?

With one heavy push, Hiro lifted himself up onto his feet again, decidedly walking towards Baymax, grabbing his outstretched arm and pulling him along on the ground. If holes got into that vinyl, so be it. It was something he could repair easily at home.

Turned out, dragging the robot on an uneven and rocky ground was not an easy task either. Stubborn as he was, Hiro kept up his slow pace on the sidewalk, painfully ignoring the stranger, who awkwardly followed them without saying as much as a single word and who was unsure of where to look.

A high frictional resistance and Hiro's small body frame however were enough to make the boy stop to rest five minutes later at a crossover. Looking behind he saw the police station one block away. And the awkward stranger. At this rate, it would take Hiro at least an hour to get home.

"Help?" The man shyly asked as he scratched his neck with one hand and pointed with the other towards the lifeless robot on the ground.

"No, no." Frustration crept up in Hiro again. He faced the man and politely added: "Look, Sir, I'll be able to deal with my problems myself. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you could deal with yours."

"I could deal with what?" The guy asked. Only now did Hiro notice his somewhat foreign accent. Come to think of it, his uncommon colored hair and unusual round eyes might suggest that he wasn't from around here.

"Oh. Sorry." Hiro apologized honestly. "You- I had a rough day. I need some time alone. So please." He emphasized his next word. "Leave."

The stranger almost looked hurt. With a silent nod he turned around and went away.

Hiro might have been a bit too harsh. Although in his defence, the foreigner was really persistent and too pushy for his liking. Especially after today's events.

That thought made Hiro halt again on the other side of the crosswalk. The criminal. He looked back. Could it be? Was that stranger the masked man from the factory?

No, impossible. Not only because the he was taller and thinner than the criminal. If he was that guy from the factory, he surely would have pulled him by his hair into some black van and thrown him into the ocean.

A small sigh escaped Hiro's mouth. He was just being paranoid. First things first, he just had to get back home to the Lucky Cat Cafe, rest and then contemplate what to do next in this situation.

With a final heavy breath, he took Baymax' arm, heaved it over his shoulder and made his way home.

* * *

 **A/N:** I have the basic concept of the story layed out, so chapters should roll out fairly regularly.

Thanks to my first followers and the first comment. Those are exciting times when my inbox is notifying me about any updates :)

Cheers!


End file.
